


Star Wars - Episode VII: The Shadow Awakens

by Roll_Traktor



Series: Star Wars sequel trilogy: Reimagined [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Star Wars Setting, F/M, Fix-It, Gen, Space Opera
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-24
Updated: 2020-01-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:33:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22391077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Roll_Traktor/pseuds/Roll_Traktor
Summary: Here I cover the outline for an alternative episode VII. It is a major rework of the story containing only few motifs from the actual movie, The Force Awakens. This is the first part of the reimagined trilogy that is guaranteed to be better than what we actually got. A one where plot, characters, motivations...where the story makes sense.
Relationships: Leia Organa/Han Solo
Series: Star Wars sequel trilogy: Reimagined [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1611511
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This series will be in a form of a screenplay-like outline that I may flesh out more in the future. Time will tell.
> 
> Feedback and critiques are appreciated.

_A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away..._

_**STAR WARS** _

_**Episode VII: The Shadow Awakens** _

_It is a time of perilious peace._  
_There is uproar across the galaxy_  
_as the NEW REPUBLIC struggles_  
_maintaining order, fighting hard_  
_to keep countless worlds together._  
_Goodness dwindels, villainy is prevalent._

_Meanwhile, the sinister FIRST ORDER_  
_has risen to oppose the Republic,_  
_hailing from the ashes of_  
_the Empire as an avenger that_  
_will restore the past glory._

_With support of the Senate,_  
_minister Leia Organa has organized_  
_a peacekeeping mission to Jakku,_  
_where things are descending into chaos...._

_..._

[Over here](https://starwarsintrocreator.kassellabs.io/#!/BLzNXa8sTCEOK4dm2DqK/edit) is a link for those, who wish to see the opening crawl as an actual animation.

...

So here we start. We see a planet where Republic ships are arriving. Those ships land troops who establish a beachead position in a friendly village. However, they are ambushed in a massive attack from the First Order. A star destroyer emerges out of thin air (it was there all the time, using cloaking technology) and takes out the underpowered Republic ships. Orbital bombardment and fierce ground attack turn the peacekeeping operation into survival. Amongst the republic troops is lieutenant Rey Dameron who leads a platoon. She watches as her men are taken down, barely surviving herself. Lord Marshal a.k.a Kylo Ren is introduced as he oversees the ambush; he arrives in a menacing entrance, wearing a mask. Rey is captured with the remaining troops and villagers.

...

This is where we introduce Finn. He is a FO sergeant whose squad is given orders to interrogate and execute prisoners. He is shocked and protests: ”this isn't what I enlisted for”. He is punished by his superiors, after which he reluctantly agrees to his orders. Planetary communications are blocked so no battle reports are being sent to the Republic HQ. During the night Finn decides to act and frees Rey. Since she is the highest ranking remaining officer he thinks she could help him escape the planet. He no longer wants any part in the First Order. As they sneak around, Rey tries to kill some enemy guards but Finn stops her, ”I may be a defector but not a kinslayer. These people are brothers to me”. They find a grounded TIE-Fighter and take off.

Rey's plan is to carry the message herself because it is the only way to inform the government about what is happening. Jakku is a strategically important planet which cannot be afforded to slip to the hands of the First Order. Rey briefly tells how the republic misunderstood the severity of the situation; they expected to intervene local infighting, not to face a fully armed enemy with a Star Destroyer. Finn in turn tells how they had been stationed there for a month. He also had had qualms with First Order's methods earlier but killing unarmed prisoners and civilians crossed the line.

...

We have a scene on board the Star Destroyer where Kylo Ren is informed about the escaped TIE-Fighter. He orders a squadron to be sent after it, since it is easy to track its transponder signal. The FO was aware of the coming peacekeeping operation because they have informants and collaborators in the administration. Kylo discusses with knight-colonel Hux and other commanders about the importance of securing Jakku, and making sure they can hide their presence from Republic as long as possible; ”I wish to see no more escapes...for your sake”.

...

Rey and Finn fly into other planet in the same system, called Hosnia. Whereas Jakku is a more hostile planet known for its natural resources (but not another desert planet), this is a green one with a pleasant climate and more urban life. They land near a prosperous city and flee there. Very soon an enemy squadron arrives. Patrols are dispatched throughout the city and our heroes have to do their best to avoid contact. They rush into a huge and glorious casino. Finn is somewhat enthralled by all the glitter while Rey tries to manage their options. One patrol eventually catches and arrests them. They make a scene and we hear a familiar voice: ”gentlemen! Is there are problem?”

It is Han Solo himself, owener of the place. There is a staredown and tension, ”I don't know you guys. It's my place, my rules”. Eventually Han shoots first. Chewie performs some smackdowns. Chaos erupts and the enemies call for support. TIE-Fighters bombard the casino, Han is furious. Rey and Finn plead to him for help. His back against the wall, he has no choice and they head to the hangar. They hop into Millennium Falcon and start heating the engines, ”I wonder if this old fellow still has it”.

Han puches the engines and they fly out of the hangar. In an extensive action scene, Rey and Finn man the gunner seats and take down the TIE-Fighters in pursuit. Finn shows hesitation and doesn't initially pull the trigger, but has to shoot the last fighter just in time before it gets to shoot them. They jump into hyperspace and we have a moment to cool down. Our characters reflect on their situation, Finn shows sadness and remorse. He mourns after his fallen comrades. He and Rey even get into argument about who is right and whose cause is just. Finn sees Rey as a privileged brat who knows nothing about injustice and suffering. Rey on the other hand accuses Finn of being just a resentful terrorist whose anger blinds him from seeing the big picture; ”I am no terrorist Rey. I never targeted civilians nor the innocent”. Eventually Han cuts the crap and tells them to focus on the situation at hand. On Rey's request they set the course for Coruscant.

...

At the destination, they meet senator Leia Organa. They brief her about the situation. Leia thanks Finn for his noble act: ”The galaxy need more men like you.” After others leave, we have a personal moment betweeen her and Han; some dialogue. Things are getting worse and peace treads on a thin line. Han mentions about ”putting the band back together”. Leia nods quietly.

...

Finn is intially taken into custody and to a military tribunal. Rey speaks on his behalf and he is released shortly after. Charges of terrorism are dropped as a gesture of goodwill for his act of bravery (and there really isn't evidence against him). Finn thanks Rey, in which she replies: ”don't thank me, I just did my duty. Remember, we still aren't friends”. They part ways at this point.

...

Later there is a terrorist attack near the senate building, there are lots of casualties; a local politician was targeted. This is something Finn gets to witness closely, he sees all the dead and injured. This futhers his disillusionment with the FO, as he never wanted nothing but justice.

...

The Senate organizes an emergency hearing about the escalating situation. There's discussion about measures to be taken. Security should be tightened, but on the other hand people don't want more and more surveillance. Jakku is discussed. The government is hesitant to move their heavy forces in as more evidence is needed; an overkill could lead to a revolt. Leia speaks about the importance of Jakku, as it can be used as a strategic stronghold to launch attacks against core systems; ”and isn't there already enough evidence? How many more must die before we act?” Rey delivers a testimony and tells about the enemy Lord Marshal wielding a red lightsaber, further indicating the connection between the First Order and the Knights of Ren; ”why are we allowing them to openly operate under our eyes?” KoR symphatizers boo her and throw insults. She feels humiliated as her testimony isn't taken seriously despite her military rank. However, they make a decision to send secret service to investigate. No other resolute initiatives are taken but chancellor Thartan Oram privately advices Leia to contact Luke Skywalker. He should investigate the involvement of the Knights of Ren; he is a trusted figure whose word would be enough to confirm the involvement of the KoR. Problem is, nobody can reach him. All they know is that he went out to search for an ancient Jedi temple.

Leia expresses frustration for the indecisiveness of the Senate. She prepares to go out there looking for his brother, altough her advisor warns her not to do so since there is a prize on her head; First Order has long tried to capture her because she has been their most vocal opponent. But she decides to go anyways. Han is coming with her alongside C-3PO. Finn and Rey also come along at Hans request, ”they know how to take care of themselves”. Finn agrees to go because he is still figuring out his place in all this, and he is also curious about meeting the legendary Jedi master. Rey feels conflicted about the mission for reasons we will soon learn. We watch as the Millennium Falcon and three X-wings take off heading to an undisclosed destination. One of those X-Wings is piloted by Poe Solo who is sent to ”look after his parents”. We watch as the ships jump into hyperspace.

...


	2. Chapter 2

Our heroes fly to Illum where Luke is rumoured to have gone. They land near an old monastery and go looking inside. The climb snowy stairs and enter a hall, there's a big fire at the center of it. But nobody is home; ”he is here somewhere, I can feel him”, says Leia and they spread out to go search for him. We focus on Rey who is descending into a small valley. Snow is falling form the sky as she navigates through a cold forest. She hears faint whispers in the wind and looks around. She arrives at a menacing cave entrance but hesitates to go in. The whispers get louder and she feels a pull inside her. She finally steps in and after a dark corridor enters a dimly lit hall with mysterious statues. Ahead of her is an altar-like structure and a hooded figure before it. It turns around and is shown to be masked Lord Marshal. Without hesitation she pulls her blaster and shoots. Kylo deflects the shot and then freezes Rey. He approaches, ”it is you, from the village”.

Rey: ”I know what you did, I know what you are.”

Kylo: ”Yes. But do you know what you are yourself? You came here! You felt the dark side”.

He probes her mind:

Kylo: ”Yes...Luke Skywalker. You have hatred for him, yet you think he can help you. If only you knew more, you wouldn't have the modicum of respect you still hold. The force is strong in you, there's so much I could show you. So much to teach.”

Rey tries to resist, but Kylo continues: ”It was easy to track you down, our spies are everywhere. Your republic can keep no secrets from us. Soon, we will find Leia...and her brother. And we will kill them”.

Suddenly a blaster is fired. Finn had sneaked in and now tries to save Rey. Kylo freezes the blaster bolt and Finn, holding him and Rey at the same time; ”you were there too, the traitor”. In a burst of anger, Rey manages to free her hand and fires her blaster, hitting Kylo in the shoulder. She and Finn get out of the cave and run through the woods. However, their escape is cut shortly as another black-robed figure is standing on their way, his red lighsaber ignited. They hear a lightsaber being ignited behind them. Kylo Ren is approaching. ”There is no escape. He will die as a traitor and you will join me”. They start shooting, but the knights deflect their shots. Kylo throws them with a Force push. They are defenceless; ”it's over”.

But another lighsaber is ignited. The Ren turn around and we zoom into a hooded figure with a green lightsaber. He walks towards and the Ren charge. What follows is a fierce lightsaber battle. The other Ren is killed while Kylo holds his ground. Neither seems to get an upper hand until two other Jedi join in. Kylo is forced to retreat and he jumps over a deep chasm. There is a short staredown until kylo turns his back and heads to the woods. Rey and Finn had been witnessing the duel and now the hooded figure approaches them. He removes his cloack and we finally see Luke. He doesn't say a word, but looks at Rey with an enigmatic expression on his face. He offers his hands and lifts them both from the ground.

...

They get back to the monastery where the rest of the search party has already returned. Rey is about to say something but is interrupted when our old fiends meet; ”it's been a long time”. We get a scene of Han, Leia and Luke together; Chewie, C-3PO and R2-D2 are also present (R2 came originally with Luke). It is a relaxed scene with dialogue. Eventually Rey breaks it up: ”I'm sorry but First Order knows we are here. They will be here soon knocking the door, we got to move”. They gather their stuff (Luke packs some ancient books) and start heading to the ships, but the FO attacks. A platoon of clone troopers blocks their way while TIE-Fighters bombard the monastery. They seem to be trapped.

Luke and his two padawans take the initiative and pull attention to themselves. The rest make an escape attempt and they get close, only to be surprised by a trooper squad. In the chaos Leia is separated from others and is taken as a prisoner. Suddenly the clone troopers pull out and TIE-Fighters turn back. Our heroes regroup, dazzled by the situation. Poe – who can think on his feet – makes a decision to pursue. 

Han: ”We don't even know where to go!”

Rey: ”Jakku. It's the most logical destination, the First Order is gathering forces there.”

Han: ”You better be right kid. Or she could be gone forever:”

Luke makes a hologram recording and transmits it to Coruscant. He also gives the message to his padawans with an order to get to the galactic capital and inform the chancellor, just in case the transmission didn't get through. The heroes man their ships and prepare to take off. On board Millennium Falcon, Luke makes a remark: ”you arrived with this! Are you sure it won't fall apart?” Han gives him a annoyed look as he punches the engines.

...

During the hyperspace drive, Rey and Luke have dialogue. They discuss about the past and why she couldn't become a Jedi. Luke is frustrated as they have had this conversation before.

Luke: ”I didn't train you before, and I won't train you now.”

Rey: ”It's unfair. You were my age when you got trained.”

Luke: ”That was a different time, and you know that.”

Rey: ”That' what you always say, 'it was different'. Bollocks to this!”

Rey isn't happy but tries to not think about it. She sits downs with Finn and has conversation. She thanks him for saving her again and they make some jokes about the craziness of what has happened so far. Finn talks about being lost and how he doesn't belong on board Falcon; ”I feel I have nothing to fight for”. Rey reminds him that he did the right thing and how everything happens for a reason; ”you will find your own destiny in time. But it was the will of the force that you were brought to us”.

…

We have a scene where Leia is on board a FO ship. Kylo Ren is interrogating and taunting her. 

Kylo: ”It was foolish for you to leave Coruscant. Look at you now. When the times comes, we will make a warning example of you”. 

Since she has been the most vocal opponent of the FO she is considered to be a mortal enemy. Kylo goes on and proclaims how democracy has failed the galaxy now as it did before. He asks, why did she ally herself with those in power instead of fighting for the people; ”the Empire wasn't good. But it was better, people had stability. And now? Have you seen what it's like down there?” 

Leia listens but answers that Kylo's quest for justice is misguided and leads to evil; ”you will only witness a rise of another tyranny as long as you ally yourself with Kress and the dark side”. Bitter words are exchanged until Kylo exits, pondering what has been said.

...

Back in the Millennium Falcon, our heroes get out of hyperspace and approach Jakku. The have to do some clever maneuvering to avoid detection and they sneak on the nightside of the planet. They land near the same village Rey was in earlier since it is located near a strategic production facility. They see dozens of the FO personnell carriers on the ground and realize their fears have been confirmed. It would be only a matter of time before the enemy would launch suprise attack against republic core systems and do irreversible damage. ”Leia is there”, says Luke. 

They think about a plan and Luke suggests Poe giving him his X-Wing. Luke would fly with the other two and make an attack run to create dispersion. Poe is hesitant first but Luke reminds about his long piloting experience; ”trust me with this, kid”. Chewie stays with the Falcon to wait for a rescue call.

...

They sneak into the facility and take control of a security room. R2-D2 hacks the computer grid to locate Leia. Once it is done, they contact Luke so he can start the attack run. The X-Wings bombard the grounded FO ships and wreak havoc. Commanding officers deploy the garrison and soon the facility is swarming with FO soldiers. Our heroes manage to get close but get into unavoidable gunfight. There's extensive action but eventually they manage to get to the prison cell and free Leia; Han is the first to get in and drags her out. He calls Chewie to fly Falcon into a nearby hangar. 

They have to fight their way to the hangar and only manage to get there with great effort. They are about to board the ship when Kylo Ren arrives; he charges towards them. Han yells them to get in and then starts walking towards Kylo while firing; Poe yells to him to come back. Kylo deflects every shot as they get closer to each other. They get closer until Kylo wipes the blaster away from Han's hands and stabs him. Leia, Poe and Rey get to witness this and are shocked. However, they quickly snap back and close the ship doors. Falcon lifts off and Kylo blasts it with force lightning. No visible damage is taken and Falcon gets off the hangar.

At the cockpit it doesn't look good as the engine power is reduced signifacantly due to the lightning; it's not enough to take them off the planet. They fly around trying to evade and shoot down the emerging TIE-Fighters. Rey calls Luke to take his X-Wings off the planet and to the Coruscant; ”the Republic must know what is going on here!” Luke is hesitant to leave his friends in trouble but knows what is at stake. The X-Wings get off the atmosphere and prepare to jump into hyperspace but a star destroyers decloaks before them. Turbolasers of the destroyer start blasting and the X-Wings barely avoid being destroyed. 

...

On the ground situation isn't much better as Falcon's engines fail altogether and they are forced to land. Rey, who is positioned in the upper cannon tower, is doing her best to fend off the TIE-Fighters. Finn is in the lower tower and shoots the approaching soldiers; ”it is us or them”. Leia and Poe can't do much more than watch. Chewie mourns. 

In space, our X-Wings maneuver as their lives depend on it. TIE-Fighters are chasing and death is closing in. In his mind, Luke is with Leia as they both prepare to die. But in the eleventh moment a warship emerges from hyperspace just before them. They avoid collision while few TIE-fighters crash into it's shields. It's a Republic ship and more are emerging all over the place. 

On radio: ”This is Grand Admiral Mal Jareed of the Republic Fleet. It seems you might use a little help up here!”

Star Destroyer strarts to cloak but the Republic ships blast it. Overwhelmed, it's systems fail and it is ripped apart in the crossfire. More X-Wings and other starfighters appear. Luke makes contact; ”this is Red Five reporting in, follow my command”. They take an U-turn towards the planet.

...

Falcon is about to get blown away as a big swarm of TIE-fighters approach. Rey does what she can and fires the cannons, eyes closed. The next moment she opens her eyes, she sees as the TIE-fighters are wiped from the sky. A squadron of X-Wings fly over them and fire at the FO ground forces. Republic ships bombard from the orbit and personnel carrier ships land near the facility. A ground battle ensues but the First Order is outnumbered and overpowered.

In an air control tower Kylo Ren watches as his men are taken down. He turns away and goes to the hangar. He takes off in a customized TIE-Fighter and flies away from the facility. We see him evading and shooting down some Republic starfighters and once in space, Kylo hits the hyperdrive.

On the ground, situation is getting under control. Luke lands near Falcon in his X-Wing and runs to meet his friends. He reunites with Leia in a hug and greets our other heroes too. But he asks the inevitable question; ”where is Han?” No words are spoken as the faces of our heros tell everything. In disbelief Luke walks into the cockpit expecting to find his old friend there. But the seats are empty. He gasps and sits down. There is a reflective moment.

...

We cut to the end, where our heroes are gathered at Han's memorial. Lots of people are there including some personnel from the Senate and army. He was the hero of the rebellion after all and thus has a state-organized funeral. Leia delivers a speech and awards all the deserving heroes. There is sadness but also smiles. Music is happy since it was something Han requested a long time ago. He wouldn't have wanted people to just weep but have fun even at the funeral; it fits the character. We have a closing shot and the credits roll.

...

To be continued...


End file.
